Question About sp 4805 (1 Viewer)

[Jason*H]

Ok Im a little confused Im ready to make my sp 4805 purchase but Im a little confused with its video capabilites.. InFocus says Component and RGB HDTV (720p, 1035i, 1080i) but DVI with HDCP for digital video and encrypted digital video. Component EDTV (480p, 576p progressive scan) I confused as why DVI dosent offer higher resolution. Im very new to FPs so please excuse my stupidity



Another quick question would this projector look better being feed a 1080i signal form component or a 480P signal from DVI with HDCP ? BTW these connections are both from the same DVD player


Thanks
Jason H

 

[frankinG]

Just feed this little gem a good 480p signal via DVI from a good dvd player like the oppo or panasonic dvd s-97 and you will be surprised how good the picture is even compared to other dlp projectors sporting 720p and 3 times the price.

 

[Jason*H]

has anyone used this dvd player NeuNeo HVD2085..If you have expecially on a FP let me know.....

 

[Jack Ferry]

Running a high def signal thru DVI looks fantastic on the 4805. True, it's not "genuine" high def, but it looks great.

Can't answer your DVD question. I use a cheapo DVD player, with surprisingly good results. (In other words, as much as I like the idea of a fancy well-reviewed player, I can't justify replacing my $30 player.)

 

[Scott L]

Jason- the DVI port is more suited for a computer connection. In addition to 848x480, it also accepts 800x600, 1024x768 and scales them to the native res of the 4805 (848x480).

If your DVD player has a pretty decent internal scaler ($300+ unit) I would recommend using the component connection to upscale to 720p or 1080i, whichever you think looks better.

Scaling does make a noticeable difference, usually for the better. This can also depend on who you talk to though.

 

[rob-h]

Scott L, what would the benefit be for him to up convert with the DVD player and then down convert with the 4805? That is what you are suggesting correct?

 

[James Phung]

If you are using DVI to the 4805, make sure you set the RGB gains/offsets to 58/28.5. The dvi connection is set to pc RGB levels by default and you must set it to 58/28.5 in the advance picture menu to get it to the correct studio RGB levels, and it makes a big difference. Leave your contrast and brightness at default 50.

Using DVI (or hdmi) will keep the video signal in digital, requiring no digital to analog and then analog to digital conversions. Most people will likely get a very good picture by just sending a 480i signal from their dvd player to the 4805 by using the 4805's Faroudja processing (found in the better dvd players out there).

Sending a 480p, 720p, or 1080i signal to the 4805 will bypass the faroudja processing of the 4805. Most dvd players under $200 video processing (deinterlacer, scaler) are not as good as the faroudja in the 4805, which is why 480i is recommended.

 

[Scott L]

rob: it makes things sharper, more 3D. When you see the end result, regular DVD just looks extremely fuzzy and not detailed at all. There is a price to this though, which are artifacts from post-processing. But dealing with low-res, blocky video from a 15 year old codec, I think it's hard to get any worse.

Mouse over the pics in this guide to see why HTPCs are gaining popularity. More on page 5.

I'm not a videophile by any means but I think you're wrong here. A video processor is needed to get any inputted video to the native resolution of a digital display. ie- 1280x720p -> 856x480p, 1920x1080i -> 856x480p. Why wouldn't the Faroudja processor do this step?

 

[Jack Gilvey]

480p looks best, but it depends on the player. Upscaling makes sense on a hi-rez pj, but not just to scale back down to 480p. The extra processing results in a softer look, which some prefer.

As recommended, try 480i also using the built-in de-interlacer.

 

[rob-h]

Scott L, I am very familiar with HTPC's. Every TV in my house has one next to it They have lived there for years!

Jack Gilvey, I would agree with the upscale/downscale not making sense. It can only degrade the image in my mind.

 

[James Phung]

Sorry, I meant that the faroudja's deinterlacing will be bypassed, I believe Faroudja is still used to scale the image down to the 4805's native resolution of 854x480. The main benefit, IMO, of the faroudja processor is when it takes the 480i signal and processes it to 480p on the 4805. When you are sending 480p, 720p, 1080i to the 4805, your source will be doing the deinterlacing, and whether or not it is a better deinterlacer depends on the device.

 

[Evan M.]

Exactly. Pretty much......unless your source has a better deinterlacer than the faroudja (and few do) then always send the 4805 a 480i signal. That Faroudja chip to me is what makes the 4805 the cream of the crop in this class of projectors. That same chip is found in a lot of above $3,500 FP's.

 

[Jason*H]

thanks fellas